The sage Confucius visits a cultured duke, whose pursuit of virtue is threatened by the desires of his dazzling, malicious consort. A naïve servant elopes with his master’s daughter, only to be plunged headlong into a world of murder and corruption. Exhausted by a lifestyle of never-ending debauchery, a young prince finds himself obsessed with a sorrowful, beguiling mermaid.

These three stories, in a gorgeous new translation by Bryan Karetnyk, distil the essence of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s shorter fiction: the commingling of Japanese and Chinese mythologies, the dark side of desire and the paper-thin line between the sublime and the depraved.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.

Translated by Bryan Karetnyk.

Jun’ichirō Tanizaki (1886-1965) is widely considered one of Japan’s most important writers. Born in Tokyo to a family of printers, he began his literary career in 1909 and published numerous plays, essays, novels and short stories. His writing is characterised by ironic wit, subtle interpersonal dynamics and charged depictions of sexuality and cultural identity. The Tanizaki Prize, one of Japan’s most prestigious awards, is named in his honour.

Bryan Karetnyk is a British writer and translator. His translations for Pushkin Press include works by Gaito Gazdanov, Irina Odoevtseva and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. He is also the editor of the Penguin Classics anthology Russian Émigré Short Stories from Bunin to Yanovsky.